Runner
by GinaDarling
Summary: Merton’s newfound obsession with the lead singer of a fairly popular band is hardly good for him, and the new girl’s got him feeling unsure and insecure. [MertonOFC]


"Look at her, Tommy!" Merton exclaimed, gesturing one pale hand towards the picture on the inside of his locker that had replaced the fake spider. "Look at her and tell me she isn't absolutely perfect." He grinned, clasping his hands together and turning to stare at it with dreamy eyes. The picture was cut out of one of Becky's _Rock Teen_ _Magazine_ issues in the "new talent" section. It showed a girl with medium length, choppy, black(with a few random shocks of bright pink, yellow, and blue) hair sitting in the driver's seat of a red convertible. She had one hand resting on the steering wheel and the other was held up in a shrug as her shocking blue eyes stared at the camera with a "What can you do?" expression. Behind her in the back seat were two boys with equally multi-colored hair sitting on either side of a girl with long, curly blonde hair. The two boys seemed to be fighting over her and they each had one arm around her shoulders. In the passenger seat sat another girl with dark hair and bright pink bangs who was turned around, reaching into the back seat in an attempt to rescue the blonde. Even with all this going on in the background, the focus was obviously on the driver, who's sweet round face and soft eyes automatically drew the eyes of the viewer.

"I dunno, Mert," Tommy replied, eyeing the picture. "I guess she's all right. Not really my type though."

Merton gave his best friend a defensive look and covered the picture with his hand. "She doesn't need to be your type. You just need to realize that she is the most perfect human being to ever walk the planet."

"Perfect for you, maybe," the jock replied as he leaned into his locker to grab a book.

"Perfect for _me_?" Merton looked almost offended. "This goddess is way out of my league." He moved his hand so he could look at the picture again. "But I can dream…" He sighed heavily, and then gave Tommy a glare. "And you can't!" The taller teen merely laughed at his small friend.

"Don't worry, Merton, I'm not interested in the least," he assured the Goth. "She's all yours."

The pale boy beside him sighed in relief. "Good." He reached into his locker to grab the novel he needed for their first period English class. "I can't wait for their show at The Factory. It's going to be amazing."

"Maybe you should try to find a girl you might actually meet, Merton," Lori interjected. She'd been listening to the entire conversation, struggling with herself to keep her silence.

"Ah, my dear, sweet, innocent Lori," Merton said, slinging an arm around her that she immediately lifted away before punching him in the shoulder. He squealed. "Let's pretend that didn't just happen." He laughed, and then got serious again. "As I was saying, Lori, I don't think you realize that she is all I need." He turned to look at the picture again, only to have it moved to an odd angle as someone shifted his locker door so it wasn't blocking the locker next to it.

"You like Suicide Pact, huh?" an unfamiliar voice questioned. Merton turned his head sharply to his right to see who had spoken. A girl he'd never seen before was standing next to him. She had long, dark brown hair with bangs swept to the side. He noticed that she shared a same basic facial structure with the object of his affection, though this girl's nose was slightly larger and her cheekbones a bit more pronounced. Also, her eyes were a deep emerald green as opposed to the shocking blue of the girl in the picture.

"Only a whole lot!" he replied enthusiastically. "Do you like them?"

The girl shrugged, turning towards the locker next to him and spinning the dial. "They're all right I guess." She paused, and then smirked. "Melody is kind of a bitch though."

Merton choked on the bottle of Yoohoo he seemed to have pulled from nowhere to drink from. "How would you know something like that?" he asked urgently. Had this girl met his favorite band and possibly also the love of his life?

"Wait, is Melody the one you like, Merton?" Tommy asked. Merton rolled his eyes.

"Of _course _not, Tommy!" He pointed to the girl in the passenger seat with the black and pink hair. "_That's_ Melody Mayhem. _That_-" he moved his finger to point at the girl in the driver's seat- "is Vicky Vain."

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "Why would you want to name yourself after the things that carry blood?" Merton sighed, turned away from his friend for a moment before explaining. Every once in a while the shorter boy had to remind himself that his best friend wasn't quite as intelligent as himself.

"Not "vein" as in your circulatory system, Tommy, "vain" as in full of yourself," he replied.

"Oh," Tommy nodded, and then looked confused. "Still, why would you want to name yourself after something like that?"

Merton shook his head and opened his mouth to reply, but the girl with the locker adjacent to his beat him to it.

"It's something that's popular in the underground music scene," she said. "Band members are nick-naming themselves crazy things left and right. Suicide Pact is only one of them." She pointed to the picture. "The other three are Danny Delirium, Hanna Heartbreak, and Alexander Apathy." The spike-haired boy stared at her with wide eyes.

"You know all their names?" He fell back against Tommy, muttered "I think I'm in love!" so that only his friend could hear, and stood up straight again. "But back to the subject at hand, how do you know of Melody's…disposition?" He leaned towards her, interested. The girl laughed.

"I've met them a couple of times, at shows and stuff," she explained. Merton's eyes grew wider and his mouth dropped open. The girl simply laughed, slinging her black backpack over her shoulder and adjusting the light green sweater she was wearing over her dark straight-leg jeans. "Anyway, I've got to get to class. Can't be late on my first day. See you 'round!" She smiled at the trio as she closed her locker and walked away, the Goth's eyes following her until she disappeared around the corner.

"Did you hear that?" Merton inquired loudly as he spun around with an excited grin on his face. "She met Suicide Pact!" He blinked. "More than once!"

Tommy laughed and grabbed his friend by the shoulder, steering him off towards their first class with Lori walking beside him. "Let's go, Merton."

Nel Rothman was accustomed to sitting in the back of the classroom, quietly daydreaming through the day's lecture until she heard something that interested her. She always seemed to breeze through her classes without having to say much except for a few clever remarks here and there, and still pass with at least a B. On any normal day, Nel would ponder the many uses of the common rubber band while the teacher babbled about commas and sentence structure.

The Wednesday that she started at Pleasantville High was not any normal day.

What caught her attention first was the teacher calling her name. Unfortunately, Miss Bingham was young and new to controlling a class full of teenagers, so when she politely asked "Eleanor Rothman" to please stand up and introduce herself, she was taken aback by the response she received.

"It's _Nel_." The answer was automatic. Nel did not let anyone call her by her full name, ever, though she hadn't meant to snap at the poor teacher who had jumped back into the chalkboard. "Uh, sorry, I mean, please, call me Nel." Miss Bingham nodded hesitantly before motioning for her newest pupil to stand. Nel complied, tugging the bottom of her sweater down over her hips. She recognized the boy who had the locker next to hers. He was twisted around in his seat and looking at her with a vaguely interested expression. When he caught her eye he gave her a goofy grin and a small wave. She smiled and nodded in his direction, which seemed to surprise several other students in the class.

"My name is Nel if you haven't already realized," she began. "Only call me Eleanor if you don't plan to be using your tongue for much longer." She smiled sweetly around at the class. "I normally move around a lot but am taking a break from that. I like vampires, cats, and the smell of wet paint." She moved to sit, then paused. "Oh, and I'm freaking awesome." With that, she sat down. Catching the same boy's eye again, she winked and grinned. He seemed surprised at first, but a moment later he returned the smile, looking pretty pleased with himself as he turned back around.


End file.
